Ala Moana Bowls Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright crew, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Ala Moana Bowls has cookin' for us over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it's a bit of a rough stretch ahead. We've got some size, but the conditions just aren't playing ball for the most part.

Looking at the whole picture, we're dealing with a persistent and strong ENE tradewind that's blowing side-offshore all day, every day for the first week. That's not the worst wind direction for this spot, but it's blowing hard – 18 to 25 mph – which is going to put a real chop on the surface and make things messy, despite the "clean" wave state label. The real kicker is the swell quality. For the first several days, the dominant swell is a short-period, choppy ENE windswell. It's got some push, with combined energy readings between 519 and 936 (moderate to strong), but the period is a measly 7 to 8 seconds. That's just not going to wrap in with any real power or shape. A lot of these days are flagged as "poor surf conditions" or "marginal," and the scores reflect that – nothing really worth paddling out for.

Let's break it day by day. The whole first week, from Friday the 3rd to Friday the 10th, is pretty much a write-off. Swell sizes fluctuate from 1 ft up to a solid 7 ft, but the wind is relentless and the period is too short to do anything with it. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

Finally, on Saturday the 11th of July, we start to see a shift. The swell direction swings to the SSW and the period jumps to 18 seconds – that's proper groundswell. The size is only 2 ft in the afternoon, but the combined energy is still decent at 274. The wind, however, is still blowing 18 mph from the ENE, and the overall call is still "poor surf conditions." It's a tease.

The following days, through to the 18th, see a repeating pattern: small (2 ft to 3 ft), long-period (13 to 17 seconds) SSW to SW groundswell, but that ENE wind just won't back off. It's consistently 18 to 25 mph. The combined energy creeps up to 546 on the 13th and 464 on the 16th, showing there's some real energy in the water. But with that much wind on a spot that's already side-offshore, it's going to be a bumpy, blown-out mess, even if the wave faces have some length to them. The long period might make the occasional set stand up, but it'll be hard work.

Looking right to the end of the forecast, Saturday the 18th of July, we have the smallest morning of the lot: 2 ft from the SSW at 13 seconds, with a combined energy of just 132 (weak). The wind finally drops to a moderate 18 mph. It's still not good.

Honestly, there's no standout session in this whole 16-day window. The wind never truly clocks offshore, and the combination of strong trades and either short-period mush or long-period groundswell that needs better wind just doesn't come together. This is one of those stretches where the ocean is just telling you to wait it out. If you absolutely have to get wet, your best bet would be the smallest, cleanest window of the long-period groundswell, but even then, the wind will be your enemy. It's a tough call.

Rusty, signing off.

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